


oh baby can’t you see (it’s supposed to be you and me)

by stilinskisderek



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Five+1 Things, Fluff, Humor, Idiots in Love, M/M, Multi, Oblivious Stiles, Stiles and Derek are best friends, Time Travel, so oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 22:23:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13797570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stilinskisderek/pseuds/stilinskisderek
Summary: “Do you believe in falling in love with someone in one night?”Derek cocks a brow at him, “I believe you’re an idiot.”(or five times Stiles goes back in time to get things right with his dream girl and the one time he realizes the one he’s been looking for has been standing right in front of him the entire time and makes it right — also known as the When We First Met AU nobody asked for.)





	oh baby can’t you see (it’s supposed to be you and me)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stilesdereks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stilesdereks/gifts).



> Back with one of my lengthier works but guys, if you’re super against Stydia be warned that there is quite a lot of it given she’s the one Stiles is after in the beginning BUT a lot of those Stydia parts have Sterek intertwined and are also in between Sterek parts so please try not to skip them because they’re very important for the fic! Enjoy my loves.

“I’d just love to thank everyone for coming out tonight. It’s been perfect. No one understands how happy I am and how lucky I feel to be sharing this special moment with all those who are dearest to me. So much has happened in these past years and I’ll be the first to admit that it hasn’t been easy, but all that led us to where we are now.”

Lydia’s eyes are watering and her smile is as bright and is as wide as it was on the night that they meant. She looks beautiful– breathtaking, actually. As breathtaking as she looked on the night they first met.

—

She was perfect.

There was no other way of saying it. Lydia was the epitome of perfect.

She was intelligent and determined, luring and sophisticated, and she knew exactly what she wanted. She was the perfect description of the sexy but very intimidating and uptight woman Stiles would never want to associate with, but Lydia was different. Lydia was different because she was all of those things, but also mellow and quick witted with a beautiful, sometimes dark, and very inappropriate, sense of humor. (And she’s watched every single one of the Star Wars movies.)

If that isn’t the description of perfection, Stiles doesn’t know what is because he’s sure that that night, he fell in love with her.

“It’s getting pretty loud in here,” Lydia shouts over the music. “You wanna get out of here?” She was looking out in the crowd but turns to gaze at him, hazel eyes lighting up with joy.

Stiles smiles and nods his head. “A change of scenery sounds nice, and I think I know just the place.” He crooks his arm at the elbow and Lydia gets the message immediately, linking her arm with his and placing a hand on his bicep with a wide smile plastered on her face.

“Shall we, my lady?”

Lydia chuckles. “We shall.”

He takes her to a jazz club because that’s his favorite place to be and figures it wouldn’t hurt seeing if she would enjoy it as much as he always does.

The look of awe written on her face when they enter, and she realizes where they are, is enough to confirm that she’s at least interested. If that’s not a sign that they’re a match made in heaven, he doesn’t know what is.

“A jazz club,” she says. “I’m impressed.”

Stiles arches a curious brow, and that’s enough for her to continue without a question. “Most guys I’ve been with would’ve taken me back to their place.”

“Well, is that an offer?”

Lydia laughs, a gloriously loud and enthusiastic sound that’s like music to his ears. He doesn’t get an answer but he finds that he doesn’t really mind.

Instead of entertaining the topic further, he takes Lydia’s hand and drags her over to a piano. The place is mostly quiet this evening since not many people are open to coming to a jazz club on halloween night. There’s light chatter around the room, the soft thrumming of a double bass. It’s peaceful, beautiful, even more so with Lydia by his side. He gestures for her to sit, and she obliges. He sits beside her, leaving hardly any space between them, which turns out to be the right move because Lydia’s hand ends up on his thigh.

Stiles can’t help the broad grin that spreads across his face in response but he doesn’t make it too obvious because that would be bad. That is desperate, and _you never show the people you’re interested in that you’re desperate_ , as his best friend always says.

“Any requests?” he asks.

Lydia hums, averting her eyes to the ceiling momentarily before redirecting them back to him. “Do you know any Miles Davis?” Stiles’ brows climb to his forehead at the question.

“Now I’m impressed. You’re really into jazz, hmm?”

She shrugs and thinks for a second before saying, “A little. My dad is a major fan of jazz, old records and everything. Guess it’s kind of a part of me.”

He whistles, grin widening in amusement. “Intelligent, beautiful and good taste in music. Be still my beating heart.”

Lydia smiles at him, a faint red coloring her pale cheeks.

He plays. He plays the first song that comes to mind, _I Fall In Love Too Easily_ , because it fits the moment; he really thinks he may be in love with her. He even sings a little bit and Lydia hums along with eyes that seem filled with admiration.

“You’re a wonderful piano player, not too bad of a singer either,” she compliments at one point. Stiles bows his head because he’s sure he’s blushing and is also sure he does not want her to see that.

“Thank you.”

“Where’d you learn to play?”

“My grandfather. He used to give me lessons when I was younger until he died when I was nine. I stopped playing after that, but then I got rusty. I got back into it because of my best friend, Derek. If you think I’m good, he– god... _he_ puts me to shame. I think my love for piano and music in general blossomed simply because of him.”

Stiles smiles at the remembrance of all the countless nights he and Derek stayed awake far past midnight. That’s when Derek was at his best, when he taught the best and played in a way that had Stiles’ eyes widening in awe and his heart thrumming every single time, each time better than the last.

“That’s beautiful, Stiles.”

He doesn’t say anything but he hopes the look he gives her is enough to convey how he feels.

They remain where they are for what feels like a beautiful forever but is probably only half an hour at most, then Lydia’s dragging him over to a photo booth and pushing him inside.

“I love these things,” she comments, “but I can barely ever find them which is disappointing.”

“Well now you have, and luckily for you, you are sitting next to the photo booth master.”

The face she pulls with the furrowed brows is absolutely adorable, which comes as a surprise because Stiles would never take her to be the “adorable” but there was a lot about her that he was still learning. One thing that’s for sure is that she’s more than what meets the eye.

“You’ll see what I mean,” he promises before putting a quarter into the slot.

They end up using four quarters by the end, taking multiple pictures in different poses, and Lydia is nearly in his lap by the last one. He thinks of kissing her, thinks this may be the perfect moment to do so with her face as close to his as it is. It’s tempting, and he almost does it, but rethinks at the last second and decides against it.

It’s okay, though, because Lydia’s still smiling when they get out of the photo booth and grab the pictures.

She invites him over to her place afterwards. They sit and talk in her living room while he finishes her box of Reese’s Puffs and she eats Lucky Charms. They talk about all their interests, friends and family, and everything in between. It’s amazing, easily one of the best nights he’s had in awhile.

“That cereal you just ate actually belonged to one of my housemates, Malia, and she’d probably cut off your balls if she found out you finished her cereal,” Lydia not-so-helpfully informs later on.

His eyes widen at the rather violent consequence of him finishing a bag of _cereal_. “Holy shit, you could’ve warned me earlier.”

Lydia shrugs. “It’s cool. I’ll just go buy some more tomorrow morning.”

“My life saver,” he gushes with a hand pressed over his heart.

Lydia grins then grabs his empty bowl and wanders off into the direction of the kitchen.

When she comes back, they sit and talk more. He thinks every moment is a good time to kiss her but never does, not sure of how she’d react, though he feels like she might be as into him as he is into her (or at least partially as much, he hopes).

That theory is shot down when he’s getting ready to leave. They stand at the door for awhile, just staring at each other before he finally decides to make his move. Stiles is leaning, slowly, tentative, and Lydia just stands there, looks like she knows what’s about to happen and is going to let it happen.

Then she’s _hugging_ him. Fucking hugging him.

Stiles is so stunned he doesn’t hug back for a few breaths before his brain kicks in and he wraps his arms around her.

“Tonight was so nice,” Lydia says, voice low and muffled by her lips being pressed against his neck. “It’s nice to finally have a great guy friend.”

That. That right there. Those two little words felt like she simultaneously kicked him in the balls and crushed his heart in her bare hands. And Stiles just doesn’t know what to do, almost can’t take how hurt he feels and how pathetic he feels for being hurt over that, so he practically rockets out of the house when they finally break apart.

—

  
He heads to Derek’s place, because of course he does. No one is capable of comforting him the way Derek has always been able to.

He ends up using his key to let himself in, instead of knocking like he probably should have on the night of a party that Derek probably took someone home from.

Stiles is right, of course, because when he walks in, he’s met by the sound of high pitched screams and pleas for Derek to go faster and the harsh sound of the headboard colliding with the wall.

Stiles sighs, unsurprised and unaffected after years of going through this. He grabs his phone from his pocket and shoves his earphones in, turns the music up as high as it can get and walks to Derek’s fridge to grab a drink.

He’s three and a half beers down by the time Derek leaves his bedroom and walks into the living room wearing absolutely nothing.

Stiles averts his eyes, though it isn’t really a problem to Derek; he’s seen the man naked on countless occasions but he’s drinking, and when he’s drinking he gets horny really fast, and around Derek, he’s just naturally aroused for obvious reasons. The drinking just makes things worse. Popping a boner for his best friend while sitting right in front of him doesn’t sound so great. He does not want to go back down that road.

“How long you been out here?” Derek asks as he takes the drink from Stiles’ hand, chugging the rest of the beer down before setting it on the table.

Stiles pulls out his earphone and sets them down. “I have no idea.”

“And you’re here at three am because...?”

“I had a great night that had a very shitty ending and I wanna talk to my best friend,” he slurs, hardly succeeding to keep his eyes open.

Derek looks at him for all of one second. “You wanna head out to our spot?” he questions.

“You just wanna leave your one night stand here by herself?”

His best friend rolls his eyes. “She’s asleep. She’ll be fine.”

“You’re kind of a dick.”

“I’m a one time fuck, not her future boyfriend,” Derek argues, lightly kicking at Stiles’ foot. “You wanna head out or not?”

Stiles’ eyes narrow and he knows he should decline. He would if he were a better person.

But he’s not which is how he finds himself sitting beside Derek on a rock at four in the morning while they eat burgers and curly fries that Derek bought because he’s an amazing best friend.

“Do you believe in falling in love with someone in one night?”

Derek cocks a very judgmental brow at him. “I believe you’re an idiot.”

Stiles shoves him lightly, mostly playful, partly annoyed. “I’m being serious, dickhead.”

Derek eyes him momentarily, like he’s calculating him and it would be pretty uncomfortable if it weren’t for the fact that the look on his face is pretty soft, softer than he looks at anyone else. “I don’t know, Stiles. I really don’t know.”

Stiles hums in thought. “Well, I think I fell in love tonight.”

“With who?” Derek prompted.

“A girl I met at the party. Lydia Martin. Future lawyer or scientist or president or ruler of the world if I’m being honest. She’s smart, she’s clever and she’s funny,” Stiles starts listing off, “though her humor can be kinda dry like yours and she’s interested in a lot of the things I’m interested in, yet we had like _five_ debates in the span of two hours. She smells really nice and dresses really nice and she’s so fucking beautiful, Der. She has these big green eyes and these enticing full lips.” Stiles pauses for a moment before continuing,“Oh and her _hair_ , it’s better than red. It’s like strawberry blonde, ya know?”

“Strawberry blonde,” Derek repeats flatly.

Stiles glares. “You heard what I said. But anyway, she’s perfect.”

“Nobody’s—“

“She’s as close to perfect as perfect gets.”

Derek goes quiet then, seems to shrink in on himself, actually. Stiles fails to notice.

“She’s just... she’s amazing and I thought we had something, ya know? I really thought we did, but at the end of the night she just... she hugged me.”

“Okay, that's not so—“

“And called me a guy friend,” Stiles quickly cuts back in.

Derek winces, makes the noise with his teeth, very visible and everything.

“Yeah, I know... I just don’t know where I went wrong.”

A comforting hand lands on his shoulder and shakes him a little. “Don’t beat yourself up over this, Stiles. You have her number?”

“Yeah.”

“Then there’s still time, trust me. No one can resist that Stilinski charm, no one, no matter how much they try...”

Stiles smiles at this, feeling his cheeks heat at the reassuring words. He settles into Derek a little more, tilting his head so that he can rest his head on Derek’s shoulder, which has his best friend moving his hand away from his own shoulder so he can wrap an arm around him instead.

Maybe Derek’s right. It wasn’t too late. It couldn’t be.

—

Derek was evidently wrong because the following morning, before Stiles could even call Lydia, she met Jordan at the supermarket that she ended up at because he had finished all of her housemate, Malia’s cereal, which is why he is where he is now: standing right before a very happy Lydia and an even happier Jordan at their engagement party.

Stiles should be happy about this, he should be ecstatic because Lydia’s happy and that’s all he ever really wanted, but he’s selfish so of course, deep down he’s mourning the official loss of the woman he loves. Though, truth be told he lost her exactly three years ago when she met Jordan, but at least before he had hope. Now there was no more room left for that.

So Stiles smiles, the best and biggest fake smile he could muster, cheers with everyone else in the room as they share a kiss and then excuses himself momentarily. He ends up by the bar, downs god knows how many drinks, and decides to go looking for Derek who should be around somewhere.

When he finds his best friend, he’s in a corner and as suspected, preoccupied with a gorgeous brunette which is just what Stiles needed. Note the sarcasm.

He allows himself to stare for just a moment, tries not to let it sink in that he’s probably going to be alone forever and only moves when Derek notices his presence and glances up at him, the smile that was on his face when he was gazing at the woman before him disappearing in a heartbeat. His face falls into an expression that’s puzzled, sad even.

Stiles doesn’t wait long, doesn’t need or want the pity so he walks away, ending up shutting himself in one of the bathrooms instead of talking to his best friend.

He feels nauseous, which makes sense after downing three beers, a few shots, and a glass of Vodka. It didn’t really seem like that much at the time, but now he’s pretty dizzy and lightheaded and _this_ close to throwing up all over the sparkling white tiles of the floor.

He makes his way over to the toilet, sits because he feels too weak to stand, and remains there just in case.

A knock on the door startles him and he lifts his head, momentarily panicking because if it’s Lydia he’s screwed because he looks like absolute shit right now.

“Sti,” a voice calls out, muffled by the door.

Stiles huffs, partially because he’s relieved it’s just Derek and partially because of Derek’s ridiculous nickname for his name which is already a nickname for his real name.

Derek opens the door without waiting for Stiles to respond and shuts it behind him. He nears Stiles slowly and sits beside him.

“Shouldn’t you be fucking some girl in one of the guest rooms?” The question comes out more like a statement but Derek doesn’t seem fazed.

“I was supposed to, but knowing my best friend’s upset doesn’t really get me in the mood.”

“You’re missing out on sex for me?”

Derek shrugs easily. “Wouldn’t be the first time. You always come first, you know that.”

Stiles smiles lazily, turning to face Derek who’s looking right back at him, concern written all over his face.

“I told you, you shouldn’t have come,” says Derek. “You’re in love with her and this is her engagement party... You couldn’t have actually thought this would be a good idea.”

“I couldn’t not come, Der. I’m one of her best friends, she would’ve been upset. Besides, what good excuse could I make for that?”

“You could’ve said you were sick.”

Stiles rolls his eyes “That’s like the worst fake excuse in the book of fake excuses.”

“Well, it’s a pretty valid excuse now,” Derek says with a grimace, “‘cause you look like shit, Stiles.”

“Gee, thanks,” he drones, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

Derek ruffles his hair because he’s a dick and smiles, bunny teeth, dimples and everything. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

They leave, sneaking out instead of leaving through the front door because Stiles wanted to avoid an encounter with Lydia or anyone else.

Derek helps him into the front passenger seat of his jeep and hops into the driver’s seat.

“What about the camaro?”

“I’ll come back for it later.”

They’re quiet for most of the ride to the jazz club, which is where Stiles decided he wanted to be, up until Stiles randomly decides to start complaining about Jordan because he can’t help it.

“The guy’s so nice. He’s literally the definition of good cop. And he’s successful and handsome and everyone loves him and it’s ridiculous. How can someone be that amazing at like breathing? It’s unreal.”

Derek takes his eyes off the road for a moment to glance over at Stiles, “I can’t figure out if you wanna knee him in the nuts or ride him until he nuts.”

Stiles makes a face. “As _if_. He doesn’t deserve this ass.”

His best friend whistles. “No one does,” he agrees with a wink.

Stiles scoffs and shoves him playfully. “Shut up perv,” he says, despite the laugh that bubbles from his lips. “Besides, you know you’re the only man for me.”

“That isn’t much of anything if you can’t stop thinking about Lydia long enough to consider someone else.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that I think about you a lot.”

“Oh really? And when do those thoughts usually occur?” Derek questions, shooting him a suggestive look that has Stiles gaping at him.

“You’re so gross.” Which is true, but Stiles is really in no position to judge him since Derek’s been the reason for many of his ‘me time’ sessions, “I hate you. Just drive.”

They end up at the club a few minutes later and Stiles orders himself a drink, disregarding how much Derek protests and despite him knowing he probably shouldn’t be drinking anymore tonight. That doesn’t stop him from ordering two more after that one while ranting to his best friend about his broken heart. He’s ready to order yet another when Derek says no and tells the bartender that he’s cut off for the rest of the night. Stiles, in his drunken state, is a tad over dramatic and quite literally shoves off his chair, gives Derek the finger and practically stomps off towards the bathroom.

He knows he’s being a bit of a brat and that Derek’s only trying to make sure he doesn’t go too far tonight but he can’t help it. He’s frustrated and upset and kind of wants to scream, but he wouldn’t be able to do that in public without looking like a mad man so alcohol is his only saving grace for the night. But Derek won’t even let him have that and Stiles feels like it’s quite the dick move. He should’ve just went home, he would’ve been able to drink all he wants.

Stiles splashes some water on his face at the sink, notices the tired look in his eyes and the pout of his lips and sighs.

He kind of wishes he never met Lydia. He kind of hates Derek for making him go to the party that night, kind of hates Derek for being the reason he ultimately decided he should’ve went.

He stands up straight and loosens his tie, rolls up his sleeves, makes himself a little more comfortable before walking out with an apology ready on his tongue.

Stiles doesn’t get to actually apologize to Derek because somehow, within the five minutes he was gone, Derek managed to fall into a conversation with the bartender who was eyeing him with a certain hunger in his eyes since they got there. The fact that said bartender is almost as hot as Derek is kind of annoying. That’s the kind of guy Lydia would go for too, probably. That’s the kind of guy anyone would go for if it came down to him versus Stiles.

This exact moment reminds Stiles of the day he found out that Derek is bisexual. They were at a party and Stiles decided to get a breath of fresh air, maybe search for Derek in the process and when he found him, he was outside, pressed up against and making out with a very attractive stranger. That had hurt because Stiles always thought Derek never wanted him because he just wasn’t into guys. Turns out Derek doesn’t want Stiles because Stiles is just that, Stiles.

He swallows, turning away from the scene because it’s the last thing he needs tonight. Instead, he heads for the photo booth because what better way to end a very shitty day than in one of his favorite places, the place he had officially decided he’s in love with Lydia Martin.

Stiles just sits in there for awhile, letting all the memories run through his head. He even takes out the photo strip he carries around sometimes. He wonders why he decided to bring it to Lydia’s engagement party but tries not to dwell on that too long.

He takes out a quarter because he’s in the booth so he might as well. Dropping it into the slot, Stiles leans back with a heavy sigh.

The light starts flashing and he musters up the best smile he can in this state. The smile is gone by the third picture and his eyes fall shut, a single tear trailing down his burning cheeks.

If only he had done things right, maybe it would’ve all been better now.

—

Stiles wakes up with a pounding headache, feels like he might topple over immediately if he even tries to stand, so he just lays there for awhile, staring up at the ceiling while trying to recollect his memory of the day before.

He woke up feeling like shit because the woman he’s in love with was having an engagement party, he went to said engagement party despite his better judgement, got dragged out of the party by Derek, got taken to the club by Derek, got sad all over again because Derek would be with anyone but him, and then ended up in the photo booth. He doesn’t remember anything else after that which is off, but it wouldn’t be the first time his memories from the night before were blurry. At least this time he didn’t wake up naked in his English professor’s bed.

The ringing of his phone startles him and he grabs the device, smiling when Derek’s name pops up on his screen.

“Yo,” he greets.

“Mornin’. We’re going to a party tonight.”

Stiles furrows his brows in confusion because sure, he’s been to a few parties in November before but never this early in November, definitely not two days after Halloween.

“Who’s birthday is it?”

“Why does it need to be anyone’s birthday for us to go to a party on Halloween?”

Okay, _what_?

Stiles has to pull his phone away from his face to blink at it for a moment as if Derek was right there taking in his look of judgement. “Halloween passed, dude.”

“Don’t call me dude,” says Derek, “and yeah, last year but I’m talking about this year, 2015. Today. Halloween. Party. You’re coming.”

“Two thousand— what?”

This time when Stiles takes a look at his phone he looks at the date and he sits up so fast his head starts spinning and the headache intensifies.

“Derek, if this is some kind of sick joke, it’s not funny.”

Derek’s silent on the line for a moment and he’s pretty sure he’s caught him in whatever prank he was trying to pull until Derek speaks again. “Did you take drugs last night or some shit?”

“What?”

“I’m serious, Stiles. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! I just— it’s not 2015.”

“Yes, yes it is, Stiles.”

“It was just 2018 yesterday,” he argues, unable help the way his voice is raising.

“What the– _Stiles_.”

He has to stand up because he’s quite literally freaking out at the moment. “I’m not kidding, Derek. I shit you not, yesterday was November 1st, 2018.”

“...Uh, you know what? Sure. Sure! Whatever floats your boat, just uh... I’m picking you up at 10.” Then Derek hangs up, but not beforeStiles hears a feminine voice in the background,probably belonging to one of Derek’s conquests looking for morning sex.

Stiles is still pacing minutes after the conversation ended and decides to throw on some sweats and hoodie to go running. He’s found that he moves a lot when he’s confused or nervous or ready to flip tables, so running is his usual go-to for exerting that energy.

He’s still holding onto the hope of Derek pulling a joke on him when he walks out onto his street and sees multiple little kids in costumes.

 _Well, fuck_.

Stiles runs. He runs and he runs and runs until his legs start to give out and he decides to take a break, taking a seat on a bench in a park he’s very familiar with.

Yesterday was 2018. He knows it was because the past few months were also in 2018 but now suddenly he wakes up this morning and he’s back in 2015, ironically on the same day he’s supposed to meet Lydia.

“Holy shit.”

It clicks. This very odd situation he just got dropped into suddenly makes sense. Time travel. It was only a concept Stiles believed in as a child yet here he is. He was sent back in time, offered another chance to finally get Lydia.

He takes it as a sign that they are meant to be, that if he can do things a little different, they’ll be the ones who end up together. Maybe he’s a little crazy for thinking this, but he’s also the one who just traveled back in time. It doesn’t get much crazier than that.

He thinks of telling someone, Derek at least, but it’d be a hard thing to believe and he doesn’t want to have to explain all of that and then end up looking insane.

So he goes to the party that night with a little more enthusiasm, completely forgets why he decided to go the first time because it no longer seems to matter.

He meets Lydia like he did the first time, does everything the same but better because this time, he does kiss her in the photo booth and she kisses back.

She also takes him home and they just have a nice conversation like the first time,but instead of a goodbye hug, he’s met with another kiss that she initiates that time and it’s wonderful, so wonderful that he finds himself still going over to Derek’s that night because this news is far too wonderful to keep to himself.

Derek leaves his date for the night in his home like he did the first time and they still go to their spot, but this time Stiles buys them milkshakes. He tells Derek all about Lydia, all about how he swears he may be in love with her and that she feels like the real deal. Derek listens because he always does whenever Stiles needs him to, even when Stiles doesn’t want him to. He listens and he nods and sometimes he makes comments, but his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes and Stiles finds himself wondering if it was like this the first time too.

He doesn’t let that thought live for too long knowing that it doesn’t mean anything. He does switch the topic from Lydia though, just in case, and the night just gets better as they talk and talk about anything and everything.

—

Stiles wakes up in a bed that isn’t his own, but it takes him less than three seconds to realize it’s Derek’s. He almost has a heart attack before he realizes he’s still wearing his clothes and lets out a breath of relief.

He starts thinking that maybe after last night he crashed at Derek’s but he’d remember that since he wasn’t drinking. He checks his phone and shouldn’t be as surprised as he is when it says it’s November 1, 2018.

So it was probably just a dream. None of that actually happened. Instead, he went home with Derek for some platonic love and comfort and fell asleep there. That makes a lot more sense than time travel.

Stiles gets out of bed, walks out of the room and follows the scent of coffee to where Derek’s cooking in the kitchen. And he’s shirtless. Of course he is.

“Good morning to me,” Stiles mutters, quickly averting his eyes when Derek turns to face him.

“Look who finally decided to get out of bed. It’s past one o’clock,” his best friend informs as he walks over to the island and takes a seat on one of the stools.

“So why are you making breakfast?”

“Brunch,” Derek corrects, “and because you like it and I was gonna wake you up with it, hopefully cheer you up a little more but the surprise has been ruined.”

Stiles smiles, it’s so wide his cheeks hurt and he knows he’s blushing which is why he’s so very thankful Derek has gone back to making the eggs. “You really know how to woo a man.”

“Only one man I care about wooing.” Derek sets a cup of coffee in front of him and his mouth waters with how good it smells. Derek’s coffee was always the best.

They’re both silent as Derek finishes up and only restart conversation when they’re both seated with a plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns in front of them. Stiles digs in immediately, not caring about how he looks shoving food into his mouth because it’s Derek and Derek has seen worse from him.

“So, how are you feeling?” Derek asks at one point.

Stiles shrugs wanting to seem unaffected, but he probably failed given the look Derek gives him. “I don’t know. Not too great but I’ll move past this. I’ll try to avoid seeing Jordan until I have to which will probably be the wedding day. Gives me a good amount of time to gather myself.”

The furrowing of Derek’s brows match the frowning of his lips when he looks up to eye Stiles. “What?”

“The engagement party,” Stiles replies, as if it should clear up all confusion.

Derek is now looking at him like he has two heads. “What engagement party?”

Stiles squints, unsure if he’s being serious or not. “The one we were at... just yesterday.”

“Stiles, did you hit your head or something?”

“No! We were legitimately at Lydia and Jordan’s engagement party just yesterday.”

“No. Yesterday we were both here for the entire day, like we have been for almost the past week since you and Lydia broke up.”

“I know we were at— wait... what?” Stiles probably looks as stunned as he feels right now because holy shit, him and Lydia broke up? Which means him and Lydia were in a relationship that gave them a reason to break up in the first place.

“Lydia and I broke up,” he says slowly, not sure how to feel about that. He’s pretty upset that he missed his entire relationship with Lydia, but it also gives him hope that he’ll be able to get her back.

Stiles is out of his seat and in Derek’s room as fast as he can move. He takes a quick shower and throws on one of Derek’s sweats and hoodies then leaves the house with his hair wet, ignoring Derek who calls after him.

He makes it to Lydia’s in a record time and actually wants to punch something when Jordan answers the door, smiles and everything because of course he’s fucking smiling.

“Is Lydia here?” he asks immediately because he really isn’t in the mood to make small talk with Jordan.

He frowns then calls for Lydia who comes to the door a few seconds later.

“Stiles,” she greets as Jordan leaves, “what are you doing here?”

“Lydia, I don’t know where we went wrong, but I just– I want you back.”

Her face softens for a moment and her eyes flutter and her lips fold in. She looks like she’s either going to cry or punch him. She does neither. Instead, she sets her features back to how they were before.

“That’s not what you want, Stiles. It took me awhile to realize, but I was never really what you wanted.”

“W-what? Lydia, I literally–” _traveled back in time just to be with you_ , he wants to say but can’t.

“Stiles, don’t make this harder than it has to be,” she says sternly. “I’m not an idiot, okay? Just... stop. I’m not who you want and the sooner you figure that out, the better it is for everyone. Just get your shit together before it’s too late, okay?”

Lydia doesn’t even give him a moment to respond before she’s closing, thankfully not slamming, the door in his face.

He stands there for a moment too long afterwards. He really doesn’t know what the hell just happened or what she was even talking about. He probably fucked up somehow along the way, and though he isn’t sure what he did, he’s pretty sure he knows how to fix it.

Stiles ends up at the club again, right back in the photo booth, praying on a quarter that this wasn’t a one time thing before pushing it into the slot.

—

The next time he wakes up it’s in his own bed and it’s back in 2015 and the first thing he does is text Derek.

 **Stiles** : how do you get so many people to like, be interested in you?

 **Stiles** : i mean aside from the obvious

 **Derek** : good morning to you too

 **Derek** : and the obvious?

 **Stiles** : that you’re hot stop reaching for compliments you know what i mean

 **Derek** : doesn’t mean i don’t like it when you say it

 **Derek** : and i don’t really do much. just be chill, show you’re interested

 **Derek** : but never make the first move

 **Stiles** : first move?

 **Derek** : don’t be the first one to kiss them or lean in

 **Stiles** : but if you know they’re interested why not?

 **Derek** : idk but i never make the first move and it works for me so

 **Stiles** : right okay

 **Derek** : just do a lot to show that you’re into it, a lot of physical contact and all that, smiling, flirting

 **Derek** : maybe even be kinda an asshole but that should be easy for you

 **Stiles** : hey!

 **Derek** : im not judging!!

 **Stiles** : yeah okay fuck you

 **Derek** : anytime stilinski anytime

 **Derek** : also we’re going to a halloween party tonight be ready

So Stiles ends up at the halloween party again. He ends up meeting Lydia again and does everything the same except with a lot more flirting, a few touches here and there and instead of going to the club, they head straight to Lydia’s and don’t even get all their clothes off or make it to the bed before she’s riding him.

—

When he wakes up, it’s with a pounding headache, but it’s also naked beside a very naked Lydia so he makes no complaints.

Lydia’s sound asleep beside him until he wraps an arm around her upper body.

She turns her head a little to the side, brows furrowed. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like you’re trying to cuddle, which we don’t do.”

“What?” Because _what_? He loves cuddling. Why the hell would they not cuddle?

Lydia sighs as she pushes his arm off of her and gets on top of him.

He starts to ramble, arguing against this absurd no cuddling policy, but then she’s taking him into her mouth and he suddenly forgets what words are.

After a beautiful round of morning sex, Lydia gets out of bed and pulls an overly large shirt over her head so he guesses it’s his own, which he can work with. Stiles means to bring up the cuddling topic again, but she’s walking out of the room before he can, so he ends up tripping over his feet while trying to throw on sweats he finds laying on the ground and trying to catch up with her all at once.

“So why don’t we cuddle?” he questions when he finds her roaming around in the kitchen.

Lydia narrows her eyes at him, looking as intimidating as she did the first time he saw her. “I’m sorry, did you roll off the bed in the middle of the night and bump your head so hard against the ground that you forgot that’s one of our ‘out of the boundary’ rules?”

“I wasn’t even aware that couples had out of the boundary rules.”

“They don’t,” she snaps, “but we’re not one so we do.”

Stiles’ brows rise so high they could probably touch his hairline. “I’m sorry, come again? Did you just say–?”

“That we were never a couple? Why yes, Stiles, I did. Seriously, did you take some drugs that cause memory loss or some shit before coming over here last night?”

“Why are we not dating?” he exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air.

Lydia seems two seconds away from throwing the spatula in her hand at his head. “Okay, since you suddenly don’t remember anything, we’re not dating. We fuck, a lot. Sometimes we go out, enjoy each other’s company in a public setting, but that usually also ends in sex where we almost get caught every single time. We do sleep in the same bed when we have sex, we make breakfast for each other even so we’re basically a couple without the cuddling, titles or feelings.”

Which the last part is clearly wrong because he knows he’s head over heels for her so feelings are definitely a thing that’s happening for him.

“So what? We just...”

“Stiles, we’re like distractions for one another.”

“Distractions from...?”

“Who we actually want.”

“And who do we want?”

“Well I want Jordan. You, on the other hand, you refuse to admit to who you want, so I refuse to tell you. You need to figure it out on your own.”

And with that, she turns her back towards him, an obvious way of telling him the conversation is over.

They don’t speak again until she sets breakfast before them. They eat and engage in a conversation she starts like the one beforehand hadn’t actually happened. It’s almost like they’re friends, but the way she spoke about their relationship, it feels like they probably aren’t.

Stiles is the first to finish eating so he washes up, taking Lydia’s plate from her when she’s finished and receives a peck on the cheek as thanks before she announces she’s going to go shower.

Stiles heads back to her room and isn’t surprised when he ends up texting Derek.

 **Stiles** : lydia and i arent together

 **Stiles** : :(((

 **Derek** : yes ik that

 **Derek** : she’s into someone else and so are you apparently

 **Stiles** : ok but who am i into

 **Stiles** : she won’t tell me

 **Derek** : hell if i know she won’t tell me either

 **Derek** : she thinks i’ll tell you if i find out

 **Stiles** : would you

 **Derek** : well obviously

 **Stiles** : this is why you own my heart

 **Derek** : i wish

Stiles’ breath catches in his throat for a second. He knows it’s a ridiculous reaction because he knows Derek doesn’t actually mean anything by what he said, but he can’t help it.

 **Derek** : i’m sure she was into you at one point

 **Stiles** : who

He almost hits himself upside the head after sending that, surprised he legitimately forgot who they were talking about.

 **Derek** : mona lisa 

 **Derek** : lydia obviously 

 **Derek** : i’m pretty sure she was into you before

 **Stiles** : first off sarcasm is MY thing ok?

 **Stiles** : also... yeah well she isn’t anymore 

And that just wouldn’t do.

—

He wakes up in 2015, as expected.

The process becomes a little repetitive, but he wears a different costume each time so at least there’s that. Plus, he never really gets tired of what he and Lydia do that night no matter how much they’ve done it. Also, each ending is different.

There was the hug, there was the kiss, the sex and now there is the cuddling.

That’s how he ends the night, in Lydia’s bed and cuddling her.

It’s perfect.

—

The first thing Stiles notices when he wakes up is that he’s sore, like really fucking sore, but in that amazing ‘I got the air fucked out my lungs the night before’ way, so he really isn’t mad about that.

He’s also in a condo he’s only been in once before and doesn’t even want to know why he’s in it now. He then notices the scent of waffles and bacon and the laughter coming from outside the door.

Stiles gets out of the bed and pulls on a pair of boxer briefs that he finds on the floor before padding out of the room. He passes down the long hallway, looking over the city through the floor to ceiling windows that replace where a wall is supposed to be. Floor to ceiling windows take up a great amount of the condo from what he remembers. On the bright side, they’re bulletproof.

He enters the kitchen to find a very naked Jordan helping Lydia, who’s only sporting a white button down, making breakfast.

Stiles is taken back by the view to say the least and he isn’t very sure where he fits in into all of this until Jordan notices his presence and walks over to him with a smile.

“Good morning, baby,” he whispers, then furthers his greeting with a kiss. Not a peck, not a simple closed mouth and innocent kiss, but a full on, filthy and promise filled kiss with tongue and everything.

He finds that he enjoys it, but in the back of his head is mad at himself for enjoying it because he’s supposed to hate Jordan. This does explain the soreness, but it also brings about the question of when he stopped hating Jordan.

“Hey, no hogging him up for yourself.”

Jordan’s the one who moves away first. Stiles’ eyes open but his lips are still momentarily puckered until he takes note of the fact that Jordan did, indeed, just stop kissing him. It makes him frown, then he notices he’s frowning so he fixes his face and just frowns in his head.

Then he notices Lydia’s signaling him over and as he walks away, Jordan slaps his ass which makes him wince and turn to give his lover, _his fucking lover_ , the finger. In response, the asshole winks.

Once he’s close enough to Lydia, she pulls him into a kiss almost as affectionate as the one Jordan gave him. Which, okay, he may have realized earlier that what he thought could be happening was actually happening, but now there’s a chance that’s it legitimately happening and holy shit. He’s dating both Lydia and Jordan. He cuddled her and instead of ending up with her as more than just a fuck buddy, he ended up dating the both of them.

God. How the fuck is this his life?

“You feeling alright after last night?” she asks, voice all soft and smooth and alluring and making Stiles’ knees weak.

“I’m feeling... sore but that only means the fucking was great.”

“It must have been. Pretty sure people in Brooklyn heard you from up here.”

“That’s... unfortunate for them.”

Lydia rolls her eyes and lightly hits him on the shoulder, a little shove telling him to sit down, so he does. It takes him awhile to find a position that doesn’t make him wanna sob out in pain, but he eventually finds it. His ass still hurts but it’s a compromise he’ll just have to settle for.

Jordan places a cup of coffee before him and kisses him on the temple which is actually really sweet. His heart does this weird thing he’d rather it not do for a guy he’s supposed to hate.

Then Derek walks into the room out of nowhere and Stiles almost has a heart attack, but immediately notes that his best friend is wearing clothes.

“Der!” he exclaims. He would jump out his seat and attack him with a hug or something but too much movement is just a no right now. “Wait, how'd you get in? Did we leave the door unlocked because that’s very unsafe.”

“He got in with the key you gave him a week after you got your own,” Lydia informs.

Derek nods as if to say she’s correct. It makes sense. “Hey. ‘morning everyone.”

“Good morning,” Jordan and Lydia greet in unison. Then they fall into easy and natural conversation which is pretty baffling because Derek isn’t that close to Jordan and Lydia, at least not when things were originally how they were supposed to be, but he supposes the fact that he’s dating the both of them now would come with them being friends with his best friend.

“You still up for that run today, Sti?”

Stiles’ heart warms at the nickname. Some things never change.

“I don’t think I’m in any condition to run today.”

“Courtesy of me,” Jordan winks.

He notices the way Derek’s smile tightens but brushes it off in favor of continuing. “We can still go for a nice, leisurely stroll,” he offers instead.

Which is exactly what they end up doing after they have breakfast with Jordan and Lydia.

“You know, I always thought I’d be the one to end up in a relationship with more than one person,” says Derek, “but one morning you calling me about Lydia then on the same night you’re calling me about Jordan who Lydia also very much likes then a few months later, bam! I’m kinda jealous.” He knows Derek’s just teasing, but it doesn’t stop him from shoving him nonetheless.

“Hey, it’s not a bad thing, I’m just saying.”

Stiles rolls his eyes and they keep walking. He doesn’t know why he suddenly feels bitter about this, but he supposes it has to do with the fact that no matter what, Lydia always ends up with Jordan. Every. Single. Time. He got the girl, but Jordan also got the girl... and him, but that’s not important. He wants it to be him and Lydia, only him and Lydia, and he doesn’t know why it never works out.

“What does Jordan have that I don’t?”

“What?”

“You heard me, Der.”

Derek just blinks for awhile then sighs. “I don’t know... I mean he’s got more muscle than you? And he’s really fucking rich.”

And that’s it. Lydia wants a man who’s got it all covered. Lydia isn’t a gold digger, but she wants a man with as much ambition as her, wants someone to be successful with her, not someone who will bring her down on her road to the top.

“Stiles.”

“Hmm?”

“You know you don’t need to be like Jordan right? Not in any way. They both love you regardless and anyone would be lucky to be with you.”

Stiles turns to look at Derek, notices the way their feet are slowing. “You know you don’t have to say that to make me feel better right?”

His best friend arches a brow. “Have I ever said anything just to make you feel better?”

“I don’t know, have you?”

“Maybe a few times,” Derek admits, “but those were times you were already feeling really down and I didn’t wanna risk making it worse for you. This time, I’m serious. Not just saying things. I mean it. Anyone would be lucky to call you theirs.”

He doesn’t say thank you, not in words, but he hopes the hug he gives is enough for him to understand.

Stiles still finds himself in the photo booth later on that day, though this time he’s hesitant. The life he has now doesn’t isn’t bad, not at all, but it still isn’t the life he wants with Lydia. Derek’s words are still something he thinks about putting into consideration but shoved a quarter in the slot before he can think about it too long.

He’s going to do things right this time.

—

The first thing Stiles does when he wakes up is call an old friend of his dad’s, which he should’ve done awhile back, but it’s never too late.

That’s enough for him to at least pretend that he’s pretty well off when he meets Lydia that night.

It’s all the same but there’s the promise of a future where the both of them rule the world and that’s enough for him.

The night ends with a kiss.

—

When he wakes up next, he’s alone, but the spot beside him is still warm, and the faint scent of expensive perfume is still in the air.

He hops out of bed with a wide smile on his face as he looks around and notices how big the room is. When he walks out, he takes note of the fact that the the entire place is massive and does a little victory dance when he realizes he’s living in a mansion.

Stiles walks downstairs, is greeted by not one, but two servants, and there’s a chef making him breakfast in the kitchen where Lydia is going through papers.

“Good morning beautiful,” he greets as he nears her.

The moment she looks up her face seems to light up and she sets her pen down to wrap two arms around him and pull him in for a kiss. “Good morning. Sorry I got out of bed early this morning, but I thought you’d sleep in later since this is the first day you’ve had free in like months, and I gotta get to the office a little earlier today.”

“Something important?” Stiles asks this with the sole purpose of finding out what she does because he’s pretty sure he’s a lawyer, but he’s not completely sure about her.

“One of the models bailed out on us last minute. Now we’re fucked for the show tonight and I need to get over there to examine the next potential one.”

The fashion industry, of course.

“Well I know my wife, and I know how smart she is, so I know that she’ll do amazing,” says Stiles before he takes her hand, grinning at the diamond on her ring finger then presses a kiss to the back of her palm.

“I will never get used to you saying that,” she states but the smile on her face is broad so he figures that’s not a bad thing.

They speak for awhile longer before she has to go, and Stiles stays back and eats breakfast, but after that he’s not sure what to do with his life. He isn’t even sure what his life really involves these days. He thinks maybe a day off would do him some good, help him figure things out, but the thought of hanging out with Derek sounds far more appealing so he decides to take a shower, dresses up– frowns at the fact that he has no flannels in his closet and settles for a Henley– and walks out.

Someone he’s never met before walks up to him, asks him which car he would like to use today and he has no idea what cars he owns so he tells the man to surprise him. They bring out a Porsche.

Once he’s inside, he contemplates asking for directions to Derek’s home but decides against it, just using the hope that Derek still lives in the same place he did before. If he doesn’t, Stiles will just have to use the directions provided by the car.

He stops by Joe’s Deli before heading over to Derek’s, deciding to buy them sandwiches and some drinks from their favorite lunch place.

“Stilinski, long time no see.” The greeting surely isn’t pleasant, but Stiles decides to let that go, maybe he just isn’t having the best of days.

“Yeah well, I’ve been a very busy man, but I’m back now. Can I have two of the usuals please?”

Joe makes a face then looks at another guy, Michael, who also makes a face but he makes the sandwiches anyway. Stiles drops a fifty on the counter when he gets his order and the drinks and thanks them before walking out, sighing with relief once he was outside because there was just way too much tension going on in there for his liking.

He drives over to Derek’s, humming and tapping his fingers on the wheel to the beat of a song he doesn’t remember ever listening to but somehow knows the lyrics to. He arrives in record time and jogs up to the door, jittery and excited for god knows what reason.

Stiles rings the doorbell with a wide smile that slowly vanishes when Derek opens the door and does not look the slightest bit pleased to see him.

“Hey Der,” he says, slowly, as awkwardly as he feels.

Derek’s face doesn’t crack. It’s as stern and as harsh as it was on the day they first met when Stiles accidentally poured a smoothie all over his lap while trying to serve him and his douchebag friends. That was a great day.

“What are you doing here, Stiles?”

“Uh... visiting my best friend?”

He didn’t think it would be possible, but somehow Derek’s face gets worse, it was cold now, rejecting. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“No? Why would I…?”

“You have the audacity to walk up to my doorstep and call me your best friend after all of this?” Now his voice was raising which never happened when he spoke to Stiles, not even during their worst fights.

“Derek I–”

“Don’t fucking ‘Derek’ me, Stiles,” he spits. “Did you and Lydia break up or some shit? Is that why you suddenly remembered that I exist?”

And that. Stiles felt that.

“I would never–”

“You would never what?” Derek questions, venom laced in his tone, “Ditch me to go see Lydia on multiple occasions? Miss out on my sister’s wedding to go watch a movie with Lydia? Talk all about Lydia and only about Lydia whenever you did actually come by to see me? Make plans with me then suddenly forget because of guess who? Lydia!”

“No, no... I— I would never,” because he wouldn’t. He knows he wouldn’t. In what world would Stiles forget about Derek over anyone or anything? Derek means almost as much to him as his dad does. He would never even think to treat him like this.

“Well you fucking did, Stiles.” Derek yells so loud he flinches, but his voice cracks when he says his name and Stiles notices his eyes are water. “You did.”

“Derek–”

“I lost you long time ago, Sti... a very long time ago, probably the night that you first met her, but I couldn’t admit to that. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to face the fact that I lost my best friend, the person who had my back through everything, this person who could make me feel better by just being there, this person I fell in love with... I couldn’t—“

“You’re in love with me?” His heart is practically hammering in his chest at this point and he’s surprised he’s still breathing, let alone standing up straight. “I mean... you were?”

Derek chuckles, it’s unfriendly and weak but he does it anyway “Does it matter, Stiles? Does any of it really matter anymore?”

“Der...”

“Please don’t call me that,” he says, his tone much softer than it had been before. He looks vulnerable with the faint color of red creeping up on his chest in the visible areas offered by the exposed neck of his shirt, tears threatening to slip from the eyes that couldn’t even meet Stiles’ own anymore. “I’d prefer if you’d leave.”

“Derek,” he says, begs, “please.”

“Just go, Stiles.”

And he does, hesitantly, still facing Derek as he steps back slowly, but he does. He leaves the bag on the wooden swing in the front and turns away and walks. He doesn’t hear the door close until he’s across the street. Stiles doesn’t let himself cry until he’s back inside the car.

To say he cried would actually be putting it lightly because he full on sobbed. He could hardly collect himself even when he started driving which he knew he probably shouldn’t be doing in such a state, but he needed to get out of there.

He ended up at the park, at their spot and wasn’t even shocked about it. This is all he had left of Derek now.

It felt unreal. All of this felt unreal and maybe it’s because this isn’t the life he’s supposed to have, it’s just the life he’s been chasing. It’s the life he’s been chasing for the girl he wanted, but that life and the girl suddenly meant so much less without his best friend.

Ever since he met Derek, even before they became friends, even when they hated each other, he couldn’t picture a life without him, and now suddenly he’s living in one. He’s living that life and it’s all his fault, and he can’t change it.

Stiles can’t shake that. A life without Derek. A fucking life without the person who means everything to him.

He went to the party he met Lydia at because of Derek, because he was trying to move on from Derek and just find someone new because he knew that he’d never be with Derek. He knew that Derek would never want him, not the way that he wanted Derek, but a part of him knows he still wants Derek and always did, always will.

He’s been in love with Derek for what feels like forever for crying out loud. No one can just let go of that no matter how much they want to. It’s impossible.

And Derek loved him too. Derek loved him the way he wanted to be loved by Derek, and he didn’t even fucking know that. How could he not know that? Derek’s his best friend; he knows everything about him. He sees things about Derek before even Derek sees them, yet he missed this one very important fact, that he loved him.

He loved him. He was in love with him and if Stiles had noticed sooner, maybe things would’ve been different. Maybe he could’ve been with Derek like he’s wanted to be from the beginning. Maybe he wouldn’t have fallen for Lydia and maybe he wouldn’t have allowed himself to be so absorbed in this love he has for her, in this love that just... that just played as a distraction from what he wanted but couldn’t have.

It almost doesn’t make sense, because in reality, he couldn’t have Lydia either, but that hurt less. It always did. Him not being with Lydia never got to him the way it did with Derek, and Stiles supposes that would be why he let himself fall deeper into his love for Lydia, because as long as he was too wrapped up in what he felt for her, he wouldn’t care as much for what he felt for Derek.

He knows he loves Lydia, he knows that he does in every way one could possibly love another person, but it’s not the same. It’s not in the way he loves Derek. It’s not real.

He’s traveled back in time on several occasions to be with Lydia but this time... this time he’s going to do it right.

—

Stiles wakes up at his and goes about his day with a new sense of determination.

He meets up with Derek even before the party and they just relax until he leaves to go pick up Jordan because regardless of whatever happens, Jordan will end up being part of the story, so why shouldn’t he be the one to make that happen?

At the party, he contemplates on introducing Jordan and Lydia then figures it would be strange given that Jordan already feels like him coming to his home to take him to some party is already strange, and Lydia doesn’t technically know him yet, so he only points Jordan in her direction with the instruction to go mingle. He only waits long enough to watch him take a few steps then decides fate will handle the rest then walks away in search of Derek.

He spends the rest of the night by his side.

—

Stiles is admittedly upset that he doesn’t wake up beside Derek the next time he does wake up, which most likely means they aren’t dating, but that also means he has a chance to experience the moment they do start dating, which is more than he could ask for.

He’s is jittery and anxious on his drive over to Derek’s, not exactly sure of what he’s going to say or if he’s going to say anything at all. You can’t just spring the “I’ve been in love you for years” card out on anyone, especially not when they’ve been pining on another for three of said years. He figures the worse that can happen is Derek rejects him, but they still remain best friends.

He was wrong, of course, because somehow his luck with “right” ran out a few years back.

The worst that could happen is a devastatingly beautiful woman with glowing brown skin, gorgeous hair, full lips and eyes so pretty they could make anyone’s knees weak, wearing Derek’s henley, opening Derek’s door, and clearly not to leave. That’s the worst that could happen so obviously that’s what happens.

“Stiles, hey!” The cheeriness in her voice accompanied by the wide smile on her face makes Stiles feel pretty guilty for not liking her for all the wrong reasons. “I didn’t know you were coming over this morning!” she shouts with a little more cheer than necessary. “Come in.”

“No... uh, it’s fine. I didn’t know you two were–”

“No, it’s okay. Our date isn’t until later.”

And that would be the confirmation that she’s more than just a one night stand or casual fuck because Derek doesn’t do dates, ever.

“No, really, I gotta go. I have somewhere else to be right now.” It’s a blatant lie, but he’ll do anything to get himself out of here.

He doesn’t even wait for her to respond before he starts walking away.

Eventually he finds himself at Lydia’s because the thought of being alone at that moment isn’t very pleasant, and given the text messages he woke up to from her, he’d say they’re pretty close.

“Derek is dating someone else,” he announces as he steps into her home. Though, he’s sure it’s not much of an announcement since everyone including himself knew prior to this day.

“Well hello to you too, Stiles,” she quips, the sound of the door shutting following her voice.

Stiles knows he’s talking as he walks into the living room, not even sure of what he’s rambling about, but he knows it has to do with Derek and a partner and Derek _having_ a fucking partner.

He only stops his rant when he takes note of the fact that Lydia isn’t speaking. When he faces her, she’s leaning against the door-less entrance of the living room with her arms crossed over her chest, giving him an assessing once over.

“Wanna tell me what this is all about?” she says.

Stiles plops down on the all too comfortable single sofa with a huff. He can barely look at her, and decides his fumbling fingers are a more interesting view. “Why doesn’t he want me?”

It’s silent for a very long while. Stiles hates it. He hates the silence because it gives him even more time to think about this which he would rather not do.

He hears the soft clack of Lydia’s heals against the floor and the scent of her perfume wafts towards his nose as she takes a seat on the coffee table. A single hand lands over one of his and that’s when he finally looks up.

“You remember when we first met? It was at a party Jordan was hosting and you and Derek came along to help out before it began. This was a while after I met Jordan, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take things further with him. I definitely liked him but still, I was mostly testing the waters and then I met you officially and I thought, wow, I’m so fucked because I like this guy. This guy... this guy right here, he could truly be the one,” she says, voice low like she’s telling a secret. She probably is.

Stiles’ eyes widen at the confession then his face falls and he frowns because what could he have possibly done wrong to change her mind?

Before he can ask, she’s continuing. “You were... well _are_ , amazing. You’re honestly one of the best people I know. You’re funny and you’re smart and you’re faithful and so trustworthy, and yeah, you’re kind of a dick but it’s one of those you qualities that only you can have and actually make work in a way that would make people want to be around you. You are as close to perfect as perfect can get, Stiles, and I realized that a minute into talking to you, and I wanted you. I wanted you so bad. It didn’t take me long to realize I wouldn’t be able to have you, though.” The last sentence is disclosed with a soft kind of sadness and Stiles can almost hear his heart break.

“Why?” he queries because he can’t help himself, not now.

“Derek,” Lydia answers, shoulders scrunching up as she shrugs like it is the easiest question she has ever been given. “Derek... Stiles, you spoke about him a lot that night and it wasn’t an issue. Why would it be? We were getting to know one another and that mattered more to me than anything at that moment, so it wasn’t how _much_ you spoke about him, it was _how_ you spoke about him. You would say these things that had me thinking I could fall for a man I never heard of before that night and the way your face just lit up whenever you’d speak of him... It made my heart feel like it was on the verge of collapsing.” Lydia’s eyes begin to water and Stiles wants nothing more than to pull her in for a hug but doesn’t do it, feels like she’d probably burst if he did. “The passion in your... everything when it comes to him is mind blowing, Stiles, and it’s beautiful. It’s so fucking wonderful, it can take anyone’s breath away. What you feel for him is powerful and love like that is so very rare.”

Stiles’ throat closes up as he listens, blinking back the tears that threaten to escape his eyes. It’s unbelievable that after all this time he had himself blinded to things that another could easily see, even on the first night of knowing him.

“Stiles, I know Derek feels the same. I knew it since that same night I met you, when I saw you two together, and I know it now. Even with Braeden... I know he loves her, but Stiles, he’s in love with you, and I don’t know how long it’s been that way, but I know it’s long before he and I met. It’s one of those undeniable facts. God, it might as well be labeled as scientifically proven,” Lydia claims with a chuckle. “Honestly, I don’t know how you two didn’t end up together. I don’t know how you guys aren’t together now, but I do believe in fate, and I think that no matter how things turn out, somehow you guys will find your way to one another... somehow.”

He finds himself letting out a shaky breath and isn’t surprised when he finally notices that tears did start streaming down his cheeks despite his best efforts to prevent them.

Lydia hugs him then. They hug for a very long time, her sniffling into his neck as his tears wet the shoulder of her blouse.

It’s a touching moment, to say the least. Matter of fact, it’s probably the most heartfelt moment he’s ever had with Lydia, including all the times he’s traveled to the past.

Stiles almost laughs about it now. He went back all those times for someone he wasn’t really in search for. He went through all of that when the one person he really wants has always been there, was there in every single one of these realities.

He could’ve stayed. He should’ve stayed. Maybe then things would be okay this time, maybe he’d get his chance with Derek... maybe.

It all clicks.

—

This time, this time when Stiles travels back in time, he does everything the exact way he did on the night they first met.

—

“...and I’d just love to thank everyone in this room for being here for us and supporting Jordan and I on this wonderful journey. We wouldn’t have gotten here without you guys.”

Stiles raises his glass of champagne and claps with everyone else in the room, winking at Lydia when her eyes meet his.

When the room settles, he mingles a little bit while slowly but surely making his way over to Derek who’s attention he grabs immediately. His best friend excuses himself from the conversation he was having with a brunette who’s a stranger to Stiles in favor of speaking to him.

“You wanna get outta here?” Stiles proposes as soon as the woman walks away.

Derek raises his brows as if to answer a question with a question. “We just got here.”

He grins. “That wasn’t a no.”

“You’re right, it wasn’t.”

They leave.

—

After heading to a diner to down the greasiest foods on the menu, they end up back at their spot.

“We haven’t been here in months,” Derek comments, eyes focused up at the sky.

“Yeah,” Stiles agrees, “probably mostly my fault. Sorry.”

Derek shrugs. “It’s fine. You eventually outgrow everything.”

Stiles doesn’t move his head but he does observe Derek, examining his features as he stares up at the sky. “Not everything.”

—

It’s a while later when Derek asks, “Do remember the night we first met?”

Stiles snickers. “Boy, _do I_. Walking up to you and all your asshole friends, thinking you were one of them and accidentally spilling a smoothie all over you.”

“Accidentally,” Derek retorts and if the look on his face is anything to go by, he clearly does not believe it was an accident.

“It was an accident! An accident I enjoyed, yes, but I swear to you, it was an accident. You were a total dick.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he surmises, “but I made up for all of that, didn’t I?”

Stiles hums in agreement. “You sure did. God, I found you so annoying at first–”

“Me? Me? Annoying? You live with yourself everyday and you think I’m annoying?” Stiles would take it to heart if it wasn’t for the grin on the asshole’s face.

“I hate you so much.” It’s a lie, they both know it.

“You don’t,” Derek denies, simply, easily.

Stiles won’t tell him he’s right. “Anyway, as I was saying... After that first night you were always just there, everywhere. It’s like when you notice someone one time, you always notice them whenever you see them after that. I swore for a bit that you were a stalker, but you know, you can’t hang around a Hale for too long without falling for their charm.”

“That is true,” his best friend agrees. “Honestly for me, I just really wanted to get in your pants.”

Stiles makes a really embarrassing squawking noise that has Derek bursting into fits of laughter until tears escape his eyes and he’s turning in on himself because his stomach hurts too much.

Stiles shoves him off the rock.

“Ow,” Derek groans, but it does get the laughing to stop. He ends up laying there, just catching his breath and smiling up at the sky. “Okay, maybe I wasn’t trying to get in your pants. I mean I was–,”

Stiles scoffs, “you’re such a dick.”

“...but that wasn’t all it was about. There was something different about you, special. It was pretty hard to deny, even when all I did was pretend to hate you even though I never did; not one day in my life did I ever hate you. That part kind of aggravated me because you hated me, or at least I thought you did, and hey turns out I was wrong, but still. I couldn’t stay away no matter how hard I tried. Good thing I didn’t though because it led me here...”

Stiles gazes at him, takes in every detail like it’s the last time he’ll ever see him. His heart races with want and this undeniable love he feels for Derek and it’s almost too much. He almost tells him right then and there, but he doesn’t. “Yeah... good thing you didn’t.”

—

It’s way past midnight, four in the morning and Stiles can’t sleep. He just stares up at his ceiling, listening to the pitter patter of the rain hitting the windows of his home.

He thought of telling Derek, he thought of it several times throughout the night, but never actually did it. It makes him feel pathetic. Out of all the things he’s done in his life, many of them reckless, most risky, he couldn’t do this one thing.

He thinks maybe it just wasn’t the right time, maybe he needs to wait it out awhile longer and almost wants to kick himself for actually letting that stop him because holy fuck, he’s been in love with Derek for close to a decade, how could it not be the right time?

And that’s how he finds himself standing outside in the pouring rain, waiting for Derek to open the door. When he does, he looks tired but not in the “I just woke up way” it’s more of a “I need sleep” way which has Stiles thinking that maybe he’s been as restless tonight as Stiles has.

“Stiles, what are you–”

“I’m in love with you.”

Derek looks stunned to say the least. He takes a step back and Stiles worries he might slam the door shut but he doesn’t. He stands there silently... waiting.

“Derek, I’m in love with you,” he repeats, “and I have been for so long. I never really thought I’d be that ‘high school sweetheart’ kind of guy and maybe technically I’m not because we weren’t dating and we didn’t even go to the same school, but I fell in love with you in my junior year of high school so that must count for something, right? And it’s almost hard to believe because I never saw myself falling for this incredibly irresistible, very cocky, can’t keep his dick in his pants, kind of intimidating, but actually very soft when you get to know him, caring and sweet, family loving, secretly really smart, affectionate and protective guy who I first only knew as some hot playboy jock. I never saw any of this coming and I never wanted any of it in the beginning, but Derek, I wouldn’t take a single day of any of it back for anything. Because this? What we have right here, it matters to me. What I feel for you, it matters to me. You? You mean so much to me that I can hardly take it or even begin to explain it. Sometimes when I’m around you I just can’t breathe with how much I feel for you, it’s unbearable and I just... I never saw any of this coming, but life has a funny way of working, doesn’t it?”

The question, as suspected, goes unanswered as Derek continues to gaze at him, mouth parted, but not as wide as his eyes.

Stiles feels like that might not be such a great sign, actually gets nervous because of it, but he’s already gotten this far. If things don’t turn out the way he wants, at least he’ll be able to say he got this chance and took it. “This is gonna sound crazy– I mean the whole thing already sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Because I’ve been pining after Lydia for the past three years, now I’m standing on your porch confessing my undying love for you but... you remember the day of the party? How hesitant I was about going because I really don’t like parties? I only ended up going in search of someone to help me forget you for at least one night. I thought ‘Derek’s gonna go home with someone so why shouldn’t I?’ That’s how Lydia happened. It’s clear that she became more than just a distraction after so long, but I guess going after her hurt me less than it did with you because I’ve wanted you for so long and it just... never happened. You get kinda worn out and tired of rejection after awhile, ya know? But my love for you never died and at this point I’m sure I’m damned for life because it will never die. It’s you, Derek, it’s always been you.”

Stiles is panting by the time he’s done, chest rising high and falling heavily and he, not once, looked away from Derek whose eyes were as persistent as his own no matter how much he wanted to.

Derek remains wordless, still standing at his door, crystal eyes glazed, cheeks reddening underneath the stubble.

He figures that’s as much of an answer as he’s going to get and yeah, it hurts but he needed to say that. He had to and he’s glad he did.

“I just uh...” Stiles clears his throat because it’s croaky when he tries to speak. “I just thought you should know that.”

He steps back and turns away because he can’t stand there and look at Derek any longer. He walks, though he wants nothing more than to stay. It’s only then does he notice how cold it really is. Even with the heat of Derek’s eyes on his back, he starts to shiver and that’s when he lets himself cry.

He doesn’t sob like he needs to because he doesn’t want Derek to hear, but he does cry. Stiles hates himself for doing so because he has no reason to cry. This is all his fault, anyway, isn’t it? He’s the one who became blindsided by his passion for someone else to realize what has been in front of him for all these years so truthfully, he has no right to feel this way, but he’s human for fuck’s sake. He’s human so it’s not something he can help.

It all happens so fast, one second he’s walking towards his car and the next his lips are pressed against Derek’s. His eyes widen, and he’s so still for a beat, because Derek’s actually kissing him, but when what’s happening finally catches on he’s holding onto Derek like he’ll vanish forever if he doesn’t.

The kiss is desperate, years of unspoken love being expressed through it. Derek’s arms tighten around Stiles’ waist as he pulls him in until there is no space left between them, and Stiles’ fingers clutch at his soaking wet hair, releasing a breathy sigh of relief into the kiss.

Derek’s never been good with words, not as good as he is with them. He knows that, understands it. He also understands this is his way of saying everything he has to say without speaking a single word. Stiles gets the message loud and clear.

Stiles is murmuring into the kiss and he doesn’t know exactly what he’s saying, but it has Derek laughing a little, and he doesn’t notice that Derek’s crying until then. He pulls away, hands engulfing his lover’s cheeks, thumb stroking across the stubbled skin.

“Hey,” he whispers.

“I love you,” Derek whimpers. “Fuck, Stiles. I–”

“I know,” he utters before pulling Derek into a hug. He presses a kiss to the the top of his head where the hair is still dripping wet and whispers, “I know.”

—

He isn’t perfect. Derek isn’t either, but what they have– it’s as close to perfect as perfect can get.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to the lovely [httpstiles](http://archiveofourown.org/users/httpstiles/pseuds/httpstiles) for beta’ing this fic for me.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Leave feedback if you want, negative and positive, they both help me grow as a writer.
> 
> ([tumblr](http://girlmeetssterek.tumblr.com))


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